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The purpose of this study was to examine parent-teacher congruent perceptions of middle school structures to support parent monitoring of children's behavior. We examined family educational involvement and school's communication and support to families as predictors of congruence, as well as congruence as a predictor of children following school rules and expectations. Participants were 415 teachers and 5003 parents across 40 public middle schools in the Northwest Region of the U.S. Mixed-effects regression was used to examine the cross-sectional data. School size and student eligibility of free or reduced price school lunch were included as school-level covariates. Results suggested that higher levels of teacher-reported family involvement and school communication and support to families were significantly associated with greater parent-teacher congruence. In addition, results suggested that greater parent-teacher congruence was significantly associated with higher levels of teacher-report of children following school rules and expectations. Implications for research on parent-teacher congruence and family-school collaboration are discussed at the school system level in terms of parent monitoring of children's behavior. Practical applications are reviewed for public middle schools. [This paper will be published in "Psychology in the Schools."]

The effects of the opioid crisis have been felt across the country, and many educators are seeking ways to be proactive around their students' needs. An important step toward this goal is identifying students who need support. The Center on PBIS website (PBIS.org) provides multiple resources with provide general guidance on screener selection and implementation. This practice brief is intended to provide educators with more specific, supplemental direction for substance misuse screening and a brief overview of how such screening can be combined with brief intervention and referral to treatment.

Educational researchers and school-based practitioners are increasingly infusing Motivational Interviewing (MI) into new and existing intervention protocols to provide support to students, parents, teachers, and school administrators. To date, however, the majority of the research in this area has focused on feasibility of implementation rather than fidelity of implementation. In this manuscript, we will present MI fidelity data from 245 audio-recorded conversations with 113 unique caregivers and 20 coaches, who implemented a school-based, positive parenting intervention. The aggregate fidelity scores across coaches, parents, and sessions provide evidence the training and support procedures were effective in assisting school-based personnel to implement MI with reasonable levels of fidelity in practice settings. Further, results suggest that MI fidelity varied between sessions and coaches and that within-coach variation (e.g., session-level variation in the quality of MI delivered) greatly exceeded between-coach variation. Implications for practice and future research are discussed. [This paper will be published in "Prevention Science."]

Disruptive behavior problems frequently emerge in the preschool years and are associated with numerous, long-term negative outcomes, including comorbid disorders. First Step is a psychosocial early intervention with substantial empirical evidence supporting its efficacy among young children (Walker et al., 2014). The present study reports on a validation study of the revised and updated First Step early intervention, called First Step Next (Walker, Stiller et al. 2015), conducted within four preschool settings. One hundred sixty students at risk for school failure, and their teachers, were randomized to intervention and control conditions. Results indicated coach and teacher adherence to implementing the core components of the program was excellent. Teachers and parents had high satisfaction ratings. For the three First Step Next pro-social domains, Hedges' g effect sizes ranged from 0.34 to 0.91. For the problem behavior domain, children who received the First Step Next intervention had significant reductions in teacher and parent-reported problem behavior as compared to children randomized to the control condition. For the problem behavior domain, Hedges' g effect sizes ranged from 0.33 to 0.63, again favoring the intervention condition. All of the domains were statistically significant. This study builds on the evidence base supporting the First Step intervention in preschool settings (Feil et al., 2014; 2016; Frey et al., 2015). [This paper will be published in "Exceptional Children."]

The purpose of this study was to examine middle school outreach to families about student behavior and its relationship with student school behavior, conduct problems, emotional symptoms, prosocial behavior, as well as school safety. In addition, the role of school implementation of PBIS was examined as a systems-level approach that could promote school outreach to families. Participants were 653 teachers and 12,912 students across 41 public middle schools in the Northwest region of the U.S. The longitudinal data were examined using multilevel regression models in which repeated measures at the school level were nested within schools. Residualized change in school-level outcome was modeled as a function of current and prior measures. Findings suggested teacher-report of school proactive outreach to families predicted greater teacher-report of school safety, as well as declines in student-report of conduct problems and emotional symptoms. In addition, results suggested school outreach was associated with teacher-report of student school behavior. Implications for continued research on school-home communication, as well as implications for embedding proactive school-home communication approaches in school systems and practices are discussed. [This paper was published in "School Psychology Review" v49 n4 p493-509 2020 (EJ1282622).]

While the long-term societal costs for youth with disruptive behavior disorders are well documented, there is a dearth of information about the comprehensive costs of implementing even the most well-regarded early intervention programs, and the costs of scaling effective interventions are even less well understood. This study estimated the costs of delivering and disseminating First Step Next (FSN), an established tier two school-based early intervention, in preschool and kindergarten settings, including the training and ongoing technical assistance that support sustained, high-quality implementation. Using the Ingredients Method, we estimated (a) the per student costs of implementation, (b) the incremental cost of offering FSN to an additional student, and (c) the cost to disseminate FSN to 40 preschool and kindergarten students, including a sensitivity analysis to examine potential areas of cost savings. The per child cost to implement the FSN intervention with 29 triads in two cohorts was $4330. The incremental cost per additional student was only $2970, highlighting efficiencies gained once intervention infra-structure had been established. The cost of disseminating the intervention to a single cohort of 40 students was $170,106, or $4253 per student. The range in sensitivity analysis was $3141-$7829 per student, with variability in personnel wages having the greatest impact on cost estimates. This research expands on existing literature by providing a more comprehensive understanding of the cost of effective disruptive behavior interventions based on real-world implementation data, using these data to estimate dissemination costs, and showing how dissemination costs are particularly sensitive to personnel wages. [This is the online first version of an article published in "Prevention Science."]

This study evaluated the efficacy of a family-centered preventive intervention, the Family Check-Up (FCU), delivered as an online, eHealth model to middle school families. To increase accessibility of family-centered prevention in schools, we adapted the evidence-based FCU to an online format, with the goal of providing a model of service delivery that is feasible, given limited staffing and resources in many schools. Building on prior research, we randomly assigned participants to waitlist control (n = 105), FCU Online as a web-based intervention (n = 109), and FCU Online with coaching support (n = 108). We tested the effects of the intervention on multiple outcomes, including parental self-efficacy, child self-regulation, and child behavior, in this registered clinical trial (NCT03060291). Families engaged in the intervention at a high rate (72% completed the FCU assessment) and completed 3-month post-test assessments with good retention (94% retained). Random assignment to the FCU Online with coaching support was associated with reduced emotional problems for children (p = 0.003, d = -0.32) and improved parental confidence and self-efficacy (p = 0.018, d = 0.25) when compared with waitlist controls. Risk moderated effects: at-risk youth showed stronger effects than did those with minimal risk. The results have implications for online delivery of family-centered interventions in schools. [This paper was published in "Development and Psychopathology" v31 n5 p1873-1886 2019.]

This article examines the participation, engagement, alliance, and social validity of home-Base--a parent management intervention developed specifically to address parent engagement of elementary-level students. The intervention infuses motivational interviewing (MI) into its implementation procedures and trains behavioral coaches to use this approach as their primary interactive vehicle with parents. Process data from participants (N = 120) assigned to one of the two homeBase intervention conditions were examined to better understand the following dimensions: parental participation and engagement, coach--parent alliance, and the satisfaction of the homeBase intervention. Results indicate that parental participation was challenging in that 21 percent of the parents seemed unable to engage at all in the intervention. However, those who did participate were highly engaged and developed effective relationships with their coach. Parents perceived the homeBase intervention to be socially valid. There were also several interesting correlations among these measures that might potentially guide further research and practice. The authors recommend that school social work preparation programs and school districts consider including MI in curriculum and professional development efforts as a strategy for parental engagement. [This is the online version of an article published in "Children & Schools."]